出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2016/05/23 10:34:17」(JST)
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A value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST) is a popular way of implementing a consumption tax in Europe, Japan, and many other countries. All OECD countries except United States have a value-added tax. It differs from the sales tax in that taxes are applied to the difference between the seller-purchased price and the resale price. This is accomplished by taking full tax on all sales, but refunding the tax difference to the sellers.
The VAT is an alternative to a sales tax and is meant to deal with a specific problem. While with a sales tax, a business selling goods is responsible for making a subjective decision about the intent of a buyer, the business may not be fully competent to make the decision.
If buyers intend to consume the goods themselves, then the seller must collect a tax on the purchase price. If instead buyers intend the goods as capital goods, to be resold at a profit after adding value to them, then the seller must not collect the tax. Additionally, sellers have an incentive to claim that a sale is taxable in order to please customers; this slight conflict of interest could, and probably would, result in an under-collection of taxes.
The refund portion of a VAT removes that incentive, and incentivizes accurate collection. If the buyer is a businessperson, then the VAT is a temporary payment to the state, based on the purchase price, eventually to be reimbursed by the state for the initial payment when the goods are resold, usually after adding value to them. Hence collecting the tax is a way to get money back. Consumers, with no possible refund, have no reason to inaccurately report their intended use.
The term "value added" refers to the sale price a business charges the customer for a product, minus the cost of materials and other taxable inputs.
A VAT is like a sales tax in that ultimately only the end consumer is taxed. It differs from the sales tax in that with the sales tax, the tax is collected and remitted to the government only once, at the point of purchase by the end consumer. With the VAT, on the other hand, collections, remittances to the government, and credits for taxes that are already paid occur each time a business in the supply chain purchases products.
Maurice Lauré, Joint Director of the France Tax Authority, the Direction Générale des Impôts, was first to introduce VAT on 10 April 1954, although German industrialist Dr. Wilhelm von Siemens proposed the concept in 1918. Initially directed at large businesses, it was extended over time to include all business sectors. In France, it is the most important source of state finance, accounting for nearly 50% of state revenues.[1]
Personal end-consumers of products and services cannot recover VAT on purchases, but businesses are able to recover VAT (input tax) on the products and services that they buy in order to produce further goods or services that will be sold to yet another business in the supply chain or directly to a final consumer. In this way, the total tax levied at each stage in the economic chain of supply is a constant fraction of the value added by a business.
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Value-added tax avoids the cascade effect of sales tax by taxing only the value added at each stage of production. For this reason, throughout the world, VAT has been gaining favor over traditional sales taxes. In principle, VAT applies to all provisions of goods and services. VAT is assessed and collected on the value of goods or services that have been provided every time there is a transaction (sale/purchase). The seller charges VAT to the buyer, and the seller pays this VAT to the government. If, however, the purchaser is not an end user, but the goods or services purchased are costs to its business, the tax it has paid for such purchases can be deducted from the tax it charges to its customers. The government only receives the difference; in other words, it is paid tax on the gross margin of each transaction, by each participant in the sales chain.
In many developing countries such as India, sales tax/VAT are key revenue sources as high unemployment and low per capita income render other income sources inadequate. However, there is strong opposition to this by many sub-national governments as it leads to an overall reduction in the revenue they collect as well as of some autonomy.
In theory, sales tax is normally charged on end users (consumers). The VAT mechanism means that the end-user tax is the same as it would be with a sales tax. The main disadvantage of VAT is the extra accounting required by those in the middle of the supply chain; this is balanced by the simplicity of not requiring a set of rules to determine who is and is not considered an end user. When the VAT system has few, if any, exemptions such as with GST in New Zealand, payment of VAT is even simpler.
A general economic idea is that if sales taxes are high enough, people start engaging in widespread tax evading activity (like buying over the Internet, pretending to be a business, buying at wholesale, buying products through an employer etc.). On the other hand, total VAT rates can rise above 10% without widespread evasion because of the novel collection mechanism.[citation needed] However, because of its particular mechanism of collection, VAT becomes quite easily the target of specific frauds like carousel fraud, which can be very expensive in terms of loss of tax incomes for states.
The standard way to implement a value-added tax involves assuming a business owes some fraction on the price of the product minus all taxes previously paid on the good.
By the method of collection, VAT can be accounts-based or invoice-based.[2] Under the invoice method of collection, each seller charges VAT rate on his output and passes the buyer a special invoice that indicates the amount of tax charged. Buyers who are subject to VAT on their own sales (output tax), consider the tax on the purchase invoices as input tax and can deduct the sum from their own VAT liability. The difference between output tax and input tax is paid to the government (or a refund is claimed, in the case of negative liability). Under the accounts based method, no such specific invoices are used. Instead, the tax is calculated on the value added, measured as a difference between revenues and allowable purchases. Most countries today use the invoice method, the only exception being Japan, which uses the accounts method.
By the timing of collection,[3] VAT (as well as accounting in general) can be either accrual or cash based. Cash basis accounting is a very simple form of accounting. When a payment is received for the sale of goods or services, a deposit is made, and the revenue is recorded as of the date of the receipt of funds—no matter when the sale had been made. Cheques are written when funds are available to pay bills, and the expense is recorded as of the cheque date—regardless of when the expense had been incurred. The primary focus is on the amount of cash in the bank, and the secondary focus is on making sure all bills are paid. Little effort is made to match revenues to the time period in which they are earned, or to match expenses to the time period in which they are incurred. Accrual basis accounting matches revenues to the time period in which they are earned and matches expenses to the time period in which they are incurred. While it is more complex than cash basis accounting, it provides much more information about your business. The accrual basis allows you to track receivables (amounts due from customers on credit sales) and payables (amounts due to vendors on credit purchases). The accrual basis allows you to match revenues to the expenses incurred in earning them, giving you more meaningful financial reports.
In general, countries that have a VAT system require businesses to be registered for VAT purposes. VAT registered businesses can be natural persons or legal entities, but countries have different thresholds or regulations specifying at which turnover levels registration becomes compulsory. Businesses that are VAT registered are obliged to include VAT on goods and services that they supply to others (with some exceptions, which vary by country) and account for the VAT to the taxing authority. VAT-registered businesses are entitled to a VAT deduction for the VAT they pay on the goods and services they acquire from other VAT-registered businesses.
It has been argued that the introduction of a VAT reduces the cash economy because businesses that wish to buy and sell with other VAT-registered businesses must themselves be VAT-registered.[citation needed]
Consider the manufacture and sale of any item, which in this case we will call a widget. In what follows, the term "gross margin" is used rather than "profit". Profit is the remainder of what is left after paying other costs, such as rent and personnel costs.
With a 10% sales tax:
So the consumer has paid 10% ($0.15) extra, compared to the no taxation scheme, and the government has collected this amount in taxation. The retailers have not paid any tax directly (it is the consumer who has paid the tax), but the retailer has to do the paperwork in order to correctly pass on to the government the sales tax it has collected. Suppliers and manufacturers only have the administrative burden of supplying correct certifications, and checking that their customers (retailers) are not consumers.
A large exception to this state of affairs is online sales. Typically if the online retail firm has no nexus (also known as substantial physical presence) in the state where the merchandise will be delivered, no obligation is imposed upon the retailer to collect sales taxes from "out-of-state" purchasers. Generally, state law requires that the purchaser report such purchases to the state taxing authority and pay the use tax, which compensates for the sales tax that is not paid by the retailer. It is fair to say that many citizens are unaware of this obligation and that states make little effort to raise that awareness or provide a reasonably easy way of complying with the obligation.
With a 10% VAT:
With VAT, the consumer has paid, and the government received, the same dollar amount as with a sales tax. The businesses have not incurred any tax themselves. Their obligation is limited to assuming the necessary paperwork in order to pass on to the government the difference between what they collect in VAT (output tax, an 11th of their sales) and what they spend in VAT (input VAT, an 11th of their expenditure on goods and services subject to VAT). However they are freed from any obligation to request certifications from purchasers who are not end users, and of providing such certifications to their suppliers.
On the other hand, they incur increased accounting costs for collecting the tax, which are not reimbursed by the taxing authority. For example, wholesale companies now have to hire staff and accountants to handle the VAT paperwork, which would not be required if they were collecting sales tax instead. If you calculate the added overhead required to collect VAT, businesses collecting VAT have less profits overall than businesses collecting sales tax.
The advantage of the VAT system over the sales tax system is that under sales tax, the seller has no incentive to disbelieve a purchaser who says it is not a final user. That is to say the payer of the tax has no incentive to collect the tax. Under VAT, all sellers collect tax and pay it to the government. A purchaser has an incentive to deduct input VAT, but must prove it has the right to do so, which is usually achieved by holding an invoice quoting the VAT paid on the purchase, and indicating the VAT registration number of the supplier.
In the above examples, we assumed that the same number of widgets were made and sold both before and after the introduction of the tax. This is not true in real life.
The supply and demand economic model suggests that any tax raises the cost of transaction for someone, whether it is the seller or purchaser. In raising the cost, either the demand curve shifts leftward, or the supply curve shifts upward. The two are functionally equivalent. Consequently, the quantity of a good purchased decreases, and/or the price for which it is sold increases.
This shift in supply and demand is not incorporated into the above example, for simplicity and because these effects are different for every type of good. The above example assumes the tax is non-distortionary.
A VAT, like most taxes, distorts what would have happened without it. Because the price for someone rises, the quantity of goods traded decreases. Correspondingly, some people are worse off by more than the government is made better off by tax income. That is, more is lost due to supply and demand shifts than is gained in tax. This is known as a deadweight loss. If the income lost by the economy is greater than the government's income; the tax is inefficient. It must be noted that a VAT and a Non-VAT have the same implications on the microeconomic model.
The entire amount of the government's income (the tax revenue) may not be a deadweight drag, if the tax revenue is used for productive spending or has positive externalities – in other words, governments may do more than simply consume the tax income. While distortions occur, consumption taxes like VAT are often considered superior because they distort incentives to invest, save and work less than most other types of taxation – in other words, a VAT discourages consumption rather than production.
In the diagram on the right:
Being a consumption tax, VAT is usually used as a replacement for sales tax. Ultimately, it taxes the same people and businesses the same amounts of money, despite its internal mechanism being different. There is a significant difference between VAT and Sales Tax for goods that are imported and exported:
This means that, without special measures, goods will be taxed twice if they are exported from one country that does have VAT to another country that has sales tax instead. Conversely, goods that are imported from a VAT-free country into another country with VAT will result in no sales tax and only a fraction of the usual VAT. There are also significant differences in taxation for goods that are being imported / exported between countries with different systems or rates of VAT. Sales tax does not have those problems – it is charged in the same way for both imported and domestic goods, and it is never charged twice.
To fix this problem, nearly all countries that use VAT use special rules for imported and exported goods:
For these reasons VAT on imports and VAT rebates on exports form a common practice approved by the World Trade Organization.
| This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. (October 2013) |
Consider a Ford car that cost $25,000 to produce in the USA (that does not have a VAT, but does have 10% Sales Tax) and an Opel car that costs $25,000 to produce in Germany (that does have 20% VAT). Both prices are shown with all taxes imposed on manufacturers of these cars, including social taxes, income taxes, etc., but without taxes imposed on consumers – that is, Sales Tax in USA and VAT in Germany.
Without a special modification related to Export / Import, customer prices will be
| Price paid for Ford by consumer |
Price paid for Opel by consumer |
Taxes paid for Ford by consumer |
Taxes paid for Opel by consumer |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the USA | $27,500 | $33,000 | $2,500 (Sales Tax only) | $8,000 (Sales tax and VAT) |
| In Germany | $25,000 | $30,000 | $0 (none) | $5,000 (VAT) |
Note that Opel prices appear to be inherently higher than Ford ones. A common mistake in a lot of examples trying to prove that VAT rebates form as a trade barrier is, to set retail prices equal for both Ford and Opel. This way, prices are initially equal, but become different after all the additional VAT taxes and rebates described below. Such an approach does not take into account the simple fact that Opel prices in the table above always include VAT while Ford prices never include it. That's exactly why additional adjustments are made in VAT taxation.
One may try to object that this simply means that Germany has generally higher taxes but, in fact, this is not the case for consumer taxes. Consider a hypothetical situation where consumer tax remains exactly the same in Germany as in the example above, but now it is collected as 20% Sales Tax:
| Price paid for Ford by consumer |
Price paid for Opel by consumer |
Taxes paid for Ford by consumer |
Taxes paid for Opel by consumer |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the USA | $27,500 | $27,500 | $2,500 (Sales Tax only) | $2,500 (Sales Tax only) |
| In Germany | $30,000 | $30,000 | $5,000 (Sales Tax only) | $5,000 (Sales Tax only) |
Now lets use the same assumption that the end price to the consumer remains $25,000 and there are no taxes. All goods would be sold for $25,000 and no manufacturer has an advantage:
| Price paid for Ford by consumer |
Price paid for Opel by consumer |
Taxes paid for Ford by consumer |
Taxes paid for Opel by consumer |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the USA | $25,000 | $25,000 | $0 (No tax) | $0 (No tax) |
| In Germany | $25,000 | $25,000 | $0 (No Tax) | $0 (No Tax) |
Indeed, the end price to the consumer is $25,000 in all instances.
Once again, assuming that the end price to the consumer is $25,000, consider a hypothetical situation where consumer tax remains 10% in the United States, Germany imposes a 20% VAT on imported US goods, rebates its 20% VAT on goods exported to the US, and the US charges a 10% sales tax on both goods:
| Price paid for Ford by consumer |
Price paid for Opel by consumer |
Taxes paid for Ford by consumer |
Taxes paid for Opel by consumer |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the USA | $27,500 | $27,500 | $2,500 (Sales Tax only) | $2,500 (Sales Tax only) |
| In Germany | $30,000 | $25,000 | $5,000 (VAT Tax only) | $0 (End price to consumer) |
Excluding VAT on exports enables Germany to distort prices in its favor in its Domestic market, while goods in the foreign market are taxed such that final consumer prices remain constant on a relative basis. Germany's VAT of $5,000 is removed on its exports and both goods priced at $25,000 are taxed at 10% in the US, resulting in an after-tax end price to the consumer of $27,500. However, in Germany the imported good are taxed a VAT of 20% resulting in an end price to the consumer of $30,000 whereas the end price to the consumer remains $25,000 on the German manufactured good.
The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax introduced in Australia in 2000, which is collected by the Australian Tax Office. The revenue is then redistributed to the states and territories via the Commonwealth Grants Commission process. In essence, this is Australia's program of horizontal fiscal equalisation. Whilst the rate is currently set at 10%, there are many domestically consumed items that are effectively zero-rated (GST-free) such as fresh food, education, and health services, as well as exemptions for Government charges and fees that are themselves in the nature of taxes.
Value-added tax in Bangladesh was introduced in 1991 replacing Sales Tax and most of Excise Duties. The Value Added Tax Act, 1991 was enacted that year and VAT started its passage from 10 July 1991. The 10 July is observed as National VAT Day in Bangladesh.
Within the passage of 25 years, VAT has become the largest source of Government Revenue. About 56% of total tax revenue is VAT revenue in Bangladesh.
Standard VAT rate is 15%. Export is Zero rated. Besides these rates, there are several reduced rates locally called Truncated Rate for service sectors that are available. Different rates for different services are applied. Truncated Rates are 1.5%, 2.25%, 2.5%, 3%, 4%, 4.5%, 5%, 5.5%, 6%, 7.5%, 9% and 10%.
Bangladesh VAT is characterized by many distortions, i.e., value declaration for product and service, branch registration, tariff value, truncated rates, many restriction on credit system, advance payment of VAT, excessive exemption etc. For many distortion, VAT-GDP ratio is about 4% here. To increase productivity of VAT, Government has enacted the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act of 2012. This law will be in operation from 1 July 2016 with an automated administration.
National Board of Revenue 1 is the apex organization administering the Value Added Tax.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a value-added tax introduced by the Federal Government in 1991 at a rate of 7%, later reduced to the current rate of 5%. A Harmonized Sales Tax (HST; combined GST and provincial sales tax) is collected in New Brunswick (13%), Newfoundland (13%), Nova Scotia (15%), Ontario (13%), Prince Edward Island (14%), and, for a short time until 2013, British Columbia (12%). (Quebec has a de facto 14.975% HST: its provincial sales tax follows the same rules as the GST, and both are collected together by Revenu Québec.) Advertised and posted prices generally exclude taxes, which are calculated at time of payment; exceptions are motor fuels, the posted prices for which include sales and excise taxes, and items in vending machines as well as alcohol in monopoly stores. Basic groceries, prescription drugs, inward/outbound transportation and medical devices are exempt.
VAT was implemented in China in 1984 and is administered by the State Administration of Taxation. In 2007, the revenue from VAT was 15.47 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) which made up 33.9 percent of China's total tax revenue for the year. The standard rate of VAT in China is 17%. There is a reduced rate of 13% that applies to products such as books and types of oils.[4][citation needed]
The European Union value added tax (EU VAT) is a value-added tax encompassing member states in the European Union VAT area. Joining in this is compulsory for member states of the European Union. As a consumption tax, the EU VAT taxes the consumption of goods and services in the EU VAT area. The EU VAT's key issue asks where the supply and consumption occurs thereby determining which member state will collect the VAT and which VAT rate will be charged.
Each Member State's national VAT legislation must comply with the provisions of EU VAT law as set out in Directive 2006/112/EC. This Directive sets out the basic framework for EU VAT, but does allow Member States some degree of flexibility in implementation of VAT legislation. For example, different rates of VAT are allowed in different EU member states. However Directive 2006/112 requires Member States to have a minimum standard rate of VAT of 15% and one or two reduced rates not to be below 5%. Some Member States have a 0% VAT rate on certain supplies; these Member States would have agreed this as part of their EU Accession Treaty (for example, newspapers and certain magazines in Belgium). The highest rate currently in operation in the EU is 27% (Hungary), though Member States are free to set higher rates. There is, in fact only one Member State (Denmark) that does not have a reduced rate of VAT.[5]
VAT that is charged by a business and paid by its customers is known as "output VAT" (that is, VAT on its output supplies). VAT that is paid by a business to other businesses on the supplies that it receives is known as "input VAT" (that is, VAT on its input supplies). A business is generally able to recover input VAT to the extent that the input VAT is attributable to (that is, used to make) its taxable outputs. Input VAT is recovered by setting it against the output VAT for which the business is required to account to the government, or, if there is an excess, by claiming a repayment from the government.
The VAT Directive (prior to 1 January 2007 referred to as the Sixth VAT Directive) requires certain goods and services to be exempt from VAT (for example, postal services, medical care, lending, insurance, betting), and certain other goods and services to be exempt from VAT but subject to the ability of an EU member state to opt to charge VAT on those supplies (such as land and certain financial services). Input VAT that is attributable to exempt supplies is not recoverable, although a business can increase its prices so the customer effectively bears the cost of the 'sticking' VAT (the effective rate will be lower than the headline rate and depend on the balance between previously taxed input and labour at the exempt stage).
Increased growth and pressure on the GCC's governments to provide infrastructure to support growing urban centers, the Member States of the Arabic Gulf Co-operation Treaty, which together make up the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), have felt the need to introduce a tax system in the region.
In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has clarified that government officials are studying the situation and considering implementation of a value-added tax. [6]
VAT was introduced into the Indian taxation system from 1 April 2005. Of the 29 Indian states, eight did not introduce VAT at first instance including five states ruled by BJP. There is uniform VAT rate of 5% and 12.5% all over India. The government of Tamil Nadu introduced an act by the name Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act 2006 which came into effect from the 1 January 2007. It was also known as the TN-VAT.
The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax introduced in Malaysia in 2015, which is collected by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department. Whilst the rate is currently set at 6%, there are many domestically consumed items that are effectively zero-rated (GST-free) such as fresh foods, education, health services and medicines.
Value-added tax (Spanish: Impuesto al Valor Agregado, IVA) is a tax applied in Mexico and other countries of Latin America. In Chile, it is also called Impuesto al Valor Agregado and, in Peru, it is called Impuesto General a las Ventas or IGV.
Prior to the IVA, a sales tax (Spanish: impuesto a las ventas) had been applied in Mexico. In September 1966, the first attempt to apply the IVA took place when revenue experts declared that the IVA should be a modern equivalent of the sales tax as it occurred in France. At the convention of the Inter-American Center of Revenue Administrators in April and May 1967, the Mexican representation declared that the application of a value-added tax would not be possible in Mexico at the time. In November 1967, other experts declared that although this is one of the most equitable indirect taxes, its application in Mexico could not take place.
In response to these statements, direct sampling of members in the private sector took place as well as field trips to European countries where this tax was applied or soon to be applied. In 1969, the first attempt to substitute the mercantile-revenue tax for the value-added tax took place. On 29 December 1978 the Federal government published the official application of the tax beginning on 1 January 1980 in the Official Journal of the Federation.
As of 2010, the general VAT rate was 16%. This rate was applied all over Mexico except for bordering regions (i.e. the United States border, or Belize and Guatemala), where the rate was 11%. The main exemptions are for books, food, and medicines on a 0% basis. Also some services are exempt like a doctor's medical attention. In 2014 Mexico Tax Reforms eliminated the favorable tax rate for border regions and increased the VAT to 16% across the country.
VAT was implemented in 1998 and is the major source of government revenue. It is administered by Inland Revenue Department of Nepal. Nepal has been levying two rates of VAT: Normal 13% and zero rate. In addition, some goods and services are exempt from VAT.
The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax that was introduced in New Zealand in 1986, currently levied at 15%. It is notable for exempting few items from the tax. From July 1989 to September 2010, GST was levied at 12.5%, and prior to that at 10%.
MOMS (Danish: merværdiafgift, formerly meromsætningsafgift), Norwegian: merverdiavgift (bokmål) or meirverdiavgift (nynorsk) (abbreviated MVA), Swedish: Mervärdes och OMSättningsskatt (until the early 1970s labeled as OMS OMSättningsskatt only), Icelandic: virðisaukaskattur (abbreviated VSK), Faroese: meirvirðisgjald (abbreviated MVG) or Finnish: arvonlisävero (abbreviated ALV) are the Nordic terms for VAT. Like other countries' sales and VAT taxes, it is an indirect tax.
| Year | Tax level (Denmark) | Name |
| 1962 | 9% | OMS |
| 1967 | 10% | MOMS |
| 1968 | 12.5658 | |
| 1970 | 15% | MOMS |
| 1977 | 18% | MOMS |
| 1978 | 20.25% | MOMS |
| 1980 | 22% | MOMS |
| 1992 | 25% | MOMS |
In Denmark, VAT is generally applied at one rate, and with few exceptions is not split into two or more rates as in other countries (e.g. Germany), where reduced rates apply to essential goods such as foodstuffs. The current standard rate of VAT in Denmark is 25%. That makes Denmark one of the countries with the highest value-added tax, alongside Norway, Sweden and Croatia. A number of services have reduced VAT, for instance public transportation of private persons, health care services, publishing newspapers, rent of premises (the lessor can, though, voluntarily register as VAT payer, except for residential premises), and travel agency operations.
In Finland, the standard rate of VAT is 24% as of 1 January 2013 (raised from previous 23%), along with all other VAT rates, excluding the zero rate.[7] In addition, two reduced rates are in use: 14% (up from previous 13% starting 1 January 2013), which is applied on food and animal feed, and 10%, (increased from 9% 1 January 2013) which is applied on passenger transportation services, cinema performances, physical exercise services, books, pharmaceuticals, entrance fees to commercial cultural and entertainment events and facilities. Supplies of some goods and services are exempt under the conditions defined in the Finnish VAT Act: hospital and medical care; social welfare services; educational, financial and insurance services; lotteries and money games; transactions concerning bank notes and coins used as legal tender; real property including building land; certain transactions carried out by blind persons and interpretation services for deaf persons. The seller of these tax-exempt services or goods is not subject to VAT and does not pay tax on sales. Such sellers therefore may not deduct VAT included in the purchase prices of his inputs.
In Iceland, VAT is split into two levels: 24% for most goods and services but 11% for certain goods and services. The 11% level is applied for hotel and guesthouse stays, licence fees for radio stations (namely RÚV), newspapers and magazines, books; hot water, electricity and oil for heating houses, food for human consumption (but not alcoholic beverages), access to toll roads and music.[8]
In Norway, VAT is split into three levels: 25% general rate, 15% on foodstuffs and 8% on the supply of passenger transport services and the procurement of such services, on the letting of hotel rooms and holiday homes, and on transport services regarding the ferrying of vehicles as part of the domestic road network. The same rate applies to cinema tickets and to the television licence.[9] Financial services, health services, social services and educational services are all outside the scope of the VAT Act.[10] Newspapers, books and periodicals are zero-rated.[11] Svalbard has no VAT because of a clause in the Svalbard Treaty.
In Sweden, VAT is split into three levels: 25% for most goods and services, 12% for foods including restaurants bills and hotel stays and 6% for printed matter, cultural services, and transport of private persons. Some services are not taxable for example education of children and adults if public utility, and health and dental care, but education is taxable at 25% in case of courses for adults at a private school. Dance events (for the guests) have 25%, concerts and stage shows have 6%, and some types of cultural events have 0%.
MOMS replaced OMS (Danish "omsætningsafgift", Swedish "omsättningsskatt") in 1967, which was a tax applied exclusively for retailers.
Value-added tax (VAT) in Vietnam is a broadly based consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services arising through the process of production, circulation, and consumption. It's an indirect tax in Vietnam on domestic consumption applied nationwide rather than at different levels such as state, provincial or local taxes. It is a multi-stage tax which is collected at every stage of the production and distribution chain and passed on to the final customer. It is applicable to the majority of goods and services bought and sold for use in the country. Goods that are sold for export and services that are sold to customers abroad are normally not subject to VAT.[citation needed]
All organizations and individuals producing and trading VAT taxable goods and services in Vietnam have to pay VAT, regardless of whether they have Vietnam-based resident establishments or not.
Vietnam has three VAT rates: 0 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent. 10 percent is the standard rate applied to most goods and services unless otherwise stipulated.
A variety of goods and service transactions may qualify for VAT exemption.[citation needed]
In the United States, currently, there is no federal value-added tax (VAT) on goods or services. Instead, a sales and use tax is common in most US states. VATs have been the subject of much scholarship in the US and is one of the most contentious tax policy topics.[12][13]
In 2015, Puerto Rico passed legislation to replace its 6% sales and use tax with a 10.5% VAT beginning 1 April 2016, although the 1% municipal sales and use tax will remain and, notably, materials imported for manufacturing will be exempted.[14][15] In doing so, Puerto Rico will become the first US jurisdiction to adopt a value-added tax.[15][16] However, two states have previously enacted a form of VAT as a form of business tax in lieu of a business income tax, rather than a replacement for a sales and use tax.
The state of Michigan used a form of VAT known as the "Single Business Tax" (SBT) as its form of general business taxation. It is the only state in the United States to have used a VAT. When it was adopted in 1975, it replaced seven business taxes, including a corporate income tax. On 9 August 2006, the Michigan Legislature approved voter-initiated legislation to repeal the Single Business Tax, which was replaced by the Michigan Business Tax on 1 January 2008.[17]
The state of Hawaii has a 4% General Excise Tax (GET) that is charged on the gross income of any business entity generating income within the State of Hawaii. The State allows businesses to optionally pass on their tax burden by charging their customers a quasi sales tax rate of 4.166%.[18] The total tax burden on each item sold is more than the 4.166% charged at the register since GET was charged earlier up the sales chain (such as manufacturers and wholesalers), making the GET less transparent than a retail sales tax.[citation needed]
| This section requires expansion. (February 2016) |
Soon after President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, it was widely reported that his administration was considering a federal VAT with the revenue to be shared with state and local governments to reduce their reliance on property taxes and to fund education spending.[citation needed]
| Country | Standard rate (current) | Reduced rate (current) | Abbreviation | Local name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 7001200000000000000♠20%[19] | 7001100000000000000♠10% for rental for the purpose of habitation, transportation of passengers, garbage collection, books and periodicals, food, revenues from artistic works. | MwSt./USt. | Mehrwertsteuer/Umsatzsteuer |
| Belgium | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19] | 7001120000000000000♠12% or 6% (for food or live necessary consumables) or 0% in some cases | BTW TVA |
Belasting over de toegevoegde waarde Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée |
| Bulgaria | 7001200000000000000♠20%[19] | 7000900000000000000♠9% (hotels) or 0% | ДДС | Данък добавена стойност |
| Croatia | 7001250000000000000♠25%[19] | 7001130000000000000♠13% (since 1 January 2014) or 5% (since 1 January 2013) | PDV | Porez na dodanu vrijednost |
| Cyprus | 7001190000000000000♠19%[19] | 7000500000000000000♠5% (8% for taxi and bus transportation) | ΦΠΑ | Φόρος Προστιθέμενης Αξίας |
| Czech Republic | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19][20] | 7001150000000000000♠15% (food, public transport) or 7001100000000000000♠10% (medicines, pharmaceuticals, books and baby foodstuffs) | DPH | Daň z přidané hodnoty |
| Denmark | 7001250000000000000♠25%[19][21] | 0% | moms | Meromsætningsafgift |
| Estonia | 7001200000000000000♠20%[19] | 7000900000000000000♠9% | km | käibemaks |
| Finland | 7001240000000000000♠24% [19] | 7001140000000000000♠14% (foodstuffs, restaurants) or 10% (medicines, cultural services and events, passenger transport, hotels, books and magazines) | ALV Moms |
Arvonlisävero (Finnish) Mervärdesskatt (Swedish) |
| France | 7001200000000000000♠20%[19] | 7001100000000000000♠10% or 5.5% or 2.1% | TVA | Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée |
| Germany | 7001190000000000000♠19% (Heligoland 0%)[19] | 7000700000000000000♠7% for foodstuffs (except luxury-), books, flowers etc., 0% for postage stamps. (Heligoland always 0%) | MwSt./USt. | Mehrwertsteuer/Umsatzsteuer |
| Greece | 7001230000000000000♠23%[19][22] (16% on Aegean islands) |
7001130000000000000♠13% (6.5% for hotels, books and pharmaceutical products) (8% and 4% on Aegean islands) |
ΦΠΑ | Φόρος Προστιθέμενης Αξίας |
| Hungary | 7001270000000000000♠27%[23] | 7001180000000000000♠18% (milk and dairy products, cereal products, hotels, tickets to outdoor music events) or 5% (pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, books and periodicals, some meat products, district heating, heating based on renewable sources, live music performance under certain circumstances) or 0% (postal services, medical services, mother's milk, etc.)[24] | ÁFA | Általános forgalmi adó |
| Ireland | 7001230000000000000♠23%[19][25] | 7001135000000000000♠13.5% or 9.0% or 4.8% or 0% | CBL VAT |
Cáin Bhreisluacha (Irish) Value Added Tax (English) |
| Italy | 7001220000000000000♠22%[19] (Livigno 0%)[19] | 7001100000000000000♠10% (hotels, bars, restaurants and other tourism products, certain foodstuffs, plant protection products and special works of building restoration) or 4% (e.g. grocery staples, daily or periodical press and books, works for the elimination of architectural barriers, some kinds of seeds, fertilizers) | IVA | Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto |
| Latvia | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19] | 7001120000000000000♠12% or 0% | PVN | Pievienotās vērtības nodoklis |
| Lithuania | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19] | 7000900000000000000♠9% or 5% | PVM | Pridėtinės vertės mokestis |
| Luxembourg | 7001170000000000000♠17%[26] | 7001140000000000000♠14%, 8%, or 3% [26] | TVA | Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée |
| Malta | 7001180000000000000♠18%[19] | 7000700000000000000♠7% or 5% or 0% | VAT | Taxxa tal-Valur Miżjud |
| Netherlands | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19] | 7000600000000000000♠6% for special categories of products and services like food, medicine and art.
0% for products and services that are already taxed in other countries or systems, for excise goods, and for fish. |
BTW | Belasting over de toegevoegde waarde/Omzetbelasting |
| Poland | 7001230000000000000♠23%[27] | 7000800000000000000♠8% or 5% or 0% | PTU/VAT | Podatek od towarów i usług |
| Portugal | 7001230000000000000♠23%[28] 22% in Madeira and 18% in Azores (Minimum 70% of mainland rate)[29] |
7001130000000000000♠13% or 6% 12% or 5% in Madeira and 9% or 4% in Azores (Minimum 70% of mainland rate)[29] |
IVA | Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado |
| Romania | 7001200000000000000♠20%[30] | 7000900000000000000♠9% (food and non alcoholic drinks) or 5% (buyers of new homes under special conditions) | TVA | Taxa pe valoarea adăugată |
| Slovakia | 7001200000000000000♠20%[19] | 7001100000000000000♠10% | DPH | Daň z pridanej hodnoty |
| Slovenia | 7001220000000000000♠22%[31] | 7000950000000000000♠9.5% | DDV | Davek na dodano vrednost |
| Spain | 7001210000000000000♠21%[19] 7% in Canary Islands (not part of EU VAT area) |
7001100000000000000♠10% (10% from 1 September 2012[32]) or 4%[33][34] 3% or 0% in Canary Islands |
IVA IGIC |
Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido Impuesto General Indirecto Canario |
| Sweden | 7001250000000000000♠25%[19] | 7001120000000000000♠12% (e.g. food, hotels and restaurants), 6% (e.g. books, passenger transport, cultural events and activities), 0% (e.g. insurance, financial services, health care, dental care, prescription drugs, education, immovable property)[35][36] | Moms | Mervärdesskatt |
| United Kingdom | 7001200000000000000♠20%[37] 0% on Channel Islands and Gibraltar (not part of EU VAT area) |
7000500000000000000♠5% residential energy/insulation/renovations, feminine hygiene products, child safety seats and mobility aids and 0% for life necessities – basic food, water, prescription medications, medical equipment and medical supply, public transport, children's clothing, books and periodicals. Also 0% for new building construction (but standard rate for building demolition, modifications, renovation etc.) | VAT | Value Added Tax |
| Country | Standard rate (current) | Reduced rate (current) | Local name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 20% | 10% (pharmacies and medical services) | TVSH = Tatimi mbi Vlerën e Shtuar |
| Algeria | 17% | ||
| Andorra[38] | 4.5% | 1% | IGI = Impost General Indirecte |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 15% | ||
| Argentina | 21% | 10.5% or 0% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado |
| Armenia | 20% | 0% | AAH = Avelacvats Arzheqi Hark ԱԱՀ = Ավելացված արժեքի հարկ |
| Australia | 10% | 5000000000000000000♠0% fresh food, medical services, medicines and medical devices, education services, childcare, water and sewerage, government taxes & permits and many government charges, precious metals, second-hand goods and many other types of goods. Rebates for exported goods and GST taxed business inputs are also available | GST = Goods and Services Tax |
| Azerbaijan | 18% | 10.5% or 0% | ƏDV = Əlavə dəyər vergisi |
| Bahamas[39][40] | 7.5% | 7.5% or 0% (including but not limited to exports of goods or services, services to a foreign going vessel providing international commercial services, consumable goods for commercially scheduled foreign going vessels/aircraft, copyright, etc.) | VAT = Value Added Tax |
| Bangladesh | 15% | 4% for Supplier, 4.5% for ITES, 5% for electricity, 5.5% for construction firm, etc. | Musok = Mullo songzojon kor মূসক = "মূল্য সংযোজন কর" |
| Barbados | 17.5% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Belarus | 20% | 10% or 0.5% | ПДВ = Падатак на дададзеную вартасьць |
| Belize | 12.5% | ||
| Benin | 18% | ||
| Bolivia | 13% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 17% | PDV = Porez na dodanu vrijednost | |
| Botswana | 12% | ||
| Brazil | 42% | 0% | *IPI – 12% = Imposto sobre produtos industrializados (Tax over industrialized products) – Federal Tax ICMS – 25% = Imposto sobre circulação e serviços (Tax over commercialization and services) – State Tax |
| Burkina Faso | 18% | ||
| Burundi | 18% | ||
| Cambodia | 10% | ||
| Cameroon | 19.25% | ||
| Canada | 5% + 0–10% HST (GST + PVAT) | 5%/0%[a] | GST = Goods and Services Tax, TPS = Taxe sur les produits et services; HST[b] = Harmonized Sales Tax, TVH = Taxe de vente harmonisée |
| Cape Verde | 15% | ||
| Central African Republic | 19% | ||
| Chad | 18% | ||
| Chile | 19% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado | |
| China[c] | 17% | 13% for foods, printed matter, and households fuels; 6% or 3% | 增值税 (pinyin:zēng zhí shuì) |
| Colombia | 16% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado | |
| Costa Rica | 13% | ||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 16% | ||
| Dominica | 15% | ||
| Dominican Republic | 18% | 12% or 0% | ITBIS = Impuesto sobre Transferencia de Bienes Industrializados y Servicios |
| Ecuador | 12% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado | |
| Egypt | 10% (15% on Communication Services) | VAT = Value Added Tax (الضريبة على القيمة المضافة) | |
| El Salvador | 13% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado o "Impuesto a la Transferencia de Bienes Muebles y a la Prestación de Servicios" | |
| Equatorial Guinea | 15% | ||
| Ethiopia | 15% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Faroe Islands | 25% | MVG = Meirvirðisgjald | |
| Fiji | 15% | 0% | VAT = Value Added Tax |
| Gabon | 18% | ||
| Gambia[41] | 15% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Georgia | 18% | 0% | DGhG = Damatebuli Ghirebulebis gadasakhadi დღგ = დამატებული ღირებულების გადასახადი |
| Ghana | 15% | VAT = Value Added Tax plus National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL; 2.5%) | |
| Grenada | 15% | ||
| Guatemala | 12% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado | |
| Guinea | 18% | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | 15% | ||
| Guyana[42] | 16% | 0% | VAT = Value Added Tax |
| Haiti | 10% | ||
| Honduras | 12% | ||
| Iceland | 24% | 7%[d] | VSK, VASK = Virðisaukaskattur |
| India[e] | 5.5% | 5.5% | VAT = Valued Added Tax |
| Indonesia | 10% | 10%, 0% for primary groceries, medical services, financial services, education and also insurance | PPN = Pajak Pertambahan Nilai |
| Iran | 9% | VAT = Value Added Tax (مالیات بر ارزش افزوده) | |
| Isle of Man | 20% | ||
| Israel[f] | 17%[g] (0% in Eilat) | 0% (fruits and vegetables, tourism services for foreign citizens, intellectual property, diamonds, flights and apartments renting) | Ma'am = מס ערך מוסף, מע"מ |
| Ivory Coast | 18% | ||
| Jamaica | 12.5% | ||
| Japan | 8% | shōhizei (消費税?) ("consumption tax") | |
| Jersey[h] | 5% | 0% | GST = Goods and Services Tax |
| Jordan | 16% | GST = Goods and Sales Tax | |
| Kazakhstan | 12% | ҚCҚ = Қосымша салық құны (Kazakh) НДС = Налог на добавленную стоимость (Russian) |
|
| Kenya | 16% | ||
| Kosovo | 18% | 8% on water supply, electricity supply, grains, milk, books etc. [44] | TVSH = Tatimi mbi Vlerën e Shtuar |
| Kyrgyzstan | 20% | ||
| Laos | 10% | ||
| Lebanon | 10% | TVA = Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée | |
| Lesotho | 14% | ||
| Liechtenstein[45] | 8.0% | 3.8% (lodging services) or 2.5% | MWST = Mehrwertsteuer |
| Macedonia | 18% | 5% or 0% | ДДВ = Данок на додадена вредност, DDV = Danok na dodadena vrednost |
| Madagascar | 20% | ||
| Malawi | 16.5% | ||
| Malaysia[i] | 6% | 0% for fresh foods, education, healthcare and medicines | GST = Goods and Services Tax |
| Maldives | 6% | 0% | GST = Goods and Services Tax (Government Tax) |
| Mali | 18% | ||
| Mauritania | 14% | ||
| Mauritius | 15% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Mexico | 16% | 0% on books, food and medicines. | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado |
| Moldova | 20% | 8%, 5% or 0% | TVA = Taxa pe Valoarea Adăugată |
| Monaco[47] | 19.6% | 5.6% | TVA = Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée |
| Mongolia | 10% | 0% | VAT = Нэмэгдсэн өртгийн албан татвар |
| Montenegro | 19% | PDV = Porez na dodatu vrijednost | |
| Morocco | 20% | GST = Goods and Sales Tax (الضريبة على القيمة المضافة) | |
| Mozambique | 17% | ||
| Namibia | 15% | 0% | VAT = Value Added Tax |
| Nepal | 13% | 0% | VAT = Value Added Taxes |
| New Zealand | 15% | GST = Goods and Services Tax | |
| Nicaragua | 15% | ||
| Niger | 19% | ||
| Nigeria | 5% | ||
| Niue | 5% | ||
| Norway | 25% | 15% (food), 8% (public transport, hotel, cinema) and 0% for electric cars (until 2018) [48] | MVA = Merverdiavgift (bokmål) or meirverdiavgift (nynorsk) (informally moms) |
| Pakistan | 17% | 1% or 0% | GST = General Sales Tax |
| Palestine | 16% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Panama | 7% | 0% | ITBMS = Impuesto de Transferencia de Bienes Muebles y Servicios |
| Papua New Guinea | 10% | ||
| Paraguay | 10% | 5% | IVA= Impuesto al Valor Agregado |
| Peru | 18% | IGV – 16% = Impuesto General a la Ventas IPM – 2% Impuesto de Promocion Municipal | |
| Philippines | 12%[j] | 6% on petroleum products, and electricity and water services 0% for senior citizens (all who are aged 60 and above) on medicines, professional fees for physicians, medical and dental services, transportation fares, admission fees charged by theaters and amusement centers, and funeral and burial services after the death of the senior citizen |
RVAT = Reformed Value Added Tax, locally known as Karagdagang Buwis / Dungag nga Buhis |
| Republic of Congo | 16% | ||
| Russia | 18% | 10% or 0% | НДС = Налог на добавленную стоимость, NDS = Nalog na dobavlennuyu stoimost’ |
| Rwanda | 18% | 0% | VAT = Value Added Tax |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 17% | VAT = Value Added Tax | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 15% | ||
| Samoa | 15% | ||
| Senegal | 18% | ||
| Serbia | 20%[50] | 10%[51] or 0% | ПДВ = Порез на додату вредност, PDV = Porez na dodatu vrednost |
| Seychelles | 15% | ||
| Sierra Leone | 15% | ||
| Singapore | 7% | GST = Goods and Services Tax | |
| South Africa | 14% | 0% on basic foodstuffs such as bread, additionally on goods donated not for gain; goods or services used for educational purposes, such as school computers; membership contributions to an employee organization (such as labour union dues); and rent paid on a house by a renter to a landlord.[52] | VAT = Valued Added Tax; BTW = Belasting op toegevoegde waarde |
| South Korea | 10% | VAT = bugase (Hangul: 부가세) | |
| Sri Lanka | 12% | 0% | VAT = Valued Added Tax has been in effect in Sri Lanka since 2001. On the 2001 budget, the rates have been revised to 12% and 0% from the previous 20%, 12% and 0% |
| Sudan | 17% | ||
| Switzerland | 8%[33] | 3.8% (hotel sector) and 2.5% (essential foodstuff, books, newspapers, medical supplies)[33] | MWST = Mehrwertsteuer, TVA = Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée, IVA = Imposta sul valore aggiunto, TPV = Taglia sin la Plivalur |
| Taiwan | 5% | 增值稅 (pinyin:zēng zhí shuì) | |
| Tajikistan | 20% | ||
| Tanzania | 18% | ||
| Thailand | 10% | 7% | VAT = Value Added Tax, ภาษีมูลค่าเพิ่ม |
| Togo | 18% | ||
| Tonga | 15% | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 12.5% | 0% | |
| Tunisia | 18% | TVA = Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée آداء على القيمة المضافة | |
| Turkey | 18% | 8% or 1% | KDV = Katma değer vergisi |
| Turkmenistan | 15% | ||
| Uganda | 18% | ||
| Ukraine | 20% | 7% or 0% | ПДВ = Податок на додану вартість, PDV = Podatok na dodanu vartist’. |
| Uruguay | 22% | 11% or 0% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado |
| Uzbekistan | 20% | НДС = Налог на добавленную стоимость | |
| Vanuatu | 13% | ||
| Vietnam | 10% | 5% or 0% | GTGT = Giá Trị Gia Tăng |
| Venezuela | 12% | 11% | IVA = Impuesto al Valor Agregado |
| Zambia | 16% | ||
| Zimbabwe | 15% |
As of March 2016, the countries and territories under remained VAT free.[citation needed]
| Country[53] | Notes |
|---|---|
| Akrotiri and Dhekelia | British Overseas Territory |
| Angola | N/A |
| Anguilla | British Overseas Territory |
| Bahrain | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| Bermuda | British Overseas Territory |
| Bhutan | N/A |
| British Antarctic Territory | British Overseas Territory |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | British Overseas Territory |
| British Virgin Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| Brunei | N/A |
| Cayman Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| Comoros | N/A |
| Cuba | N/A |
| Djibouti | N/A |
| Eritrea | N/A |
| Falkland Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| Gibraltar | British Overseas Territory |
| Guernsey | British Crown Dependency |
| Hong Kong | Special administrative region of China |
| Iraq | N/A |
| Kiribati | N/A |
| Kuwait | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| Liberia | N/A |
| Libya | N/A |
| Macau | Special administrative region of China |
| Maldives | N/A |
| Marshall Islands | N/A |
| Micronesia | N/A |
| Montserrat | British Overseas Territory |
| Myanmar | N/A |
| Nauru | N/A |
| North Korea | N/A |
| Oman | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| Palau | N/A |
| Pitcairn Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| Qatar | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | British Overseas Territory |
| San Marino | N/A |
| Sao Tome and Principe | N/A |
| Saudi Arabia | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| Solomon Islands | N/A |
| Somalia | N/A |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| South Sudan | N/A |
| Suriname | N/A |
| Swaziland | N/A |
| Syria | N/A |
| Timor Leste | N/A |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | British Overseas Territory |
| Tuvalu | N/A |
| United Arab Emirates | Gulf Co-operation Council |
| United States | Most states charge a sales tax on products. The US federal government does not. There are a few states, such as Alaska, Montana, Oregon, New Hampshire, and Delaware that do not charge.[citation needed] |
| Vatican City | N/A |
| Yemen | N/A |
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The "value-added tax" has been criticized as the burden of it falls on personal end-consumers of products. Some critics consider it to be a regressive tax, meaning that the poor pay more, as a percentage of their income, than the rich. Defenders argue that relating taxation levels to income is an arbitrary standard, and that the value-added tax is in fact a proportional tax in that people with higher income pay more in that they consume more. The effective progressiveness or regressiveness of a VAT system can also be affected when different classes of goods are taxed at different rates. To maintain the progressive nature of total taxes on individuals, countries implementing VAT have reduced income tax on lower income-earners as well as instituted direct transfer payments to lower-income groups, resulting in lower tax burdens on the poor.[54]
Revenues from a value-added tax are frequently lower than expected because they are difficult and costly to administer and collect. In many countries, however, where collection of personal income taxes and corporate profit taxes has been historically weak, VAT collection has been more successful than other types of taxes. VAT has become more important in many jurisdictions as tariff levels have fallen worldwide due to trade liberalization, as VAT has essentially replaced lost tariff revenues. Whether the costs and distortions of value-added taxes are lower than the economic inefficiencies and enforcement issues (e.g. smuggling) from high import tariffs is debated, but theory suggests value-added taxes are far more efficient.
Certain industries (small-scale services, for example) tend to have more VAT avoidance, particularly where cash transactions predominate, and VAT may be criticized for encouraging this. From the perspective of government, however, VAT may be preferable because it captures at least some of the value added. For example, a building contractor may offer to provide services for cash (i.e. without a receipt, and without VAT) to a homeowner, who usually cannot claim input VAT back. The homeowner will thus bear lower costs and the building contractor may be able to avoid other taxes (profit or payroll taxes).
Another avenue of criticism of implementing a VAT is that the increased tax passed to the consumer will increase the ultimate price paid by the consumer. However, a study in Canada reveals that in fact when replacing a traditional sales tax with a VAT consumer prices actually fell.[55]
Because exports are generally zero-rated (and VAT refunded or offset against other taxes), this is often where VAT fraud occurs. In Europe, the main source of problems is called carousel fraud.[citation needed] This kind of fraud originated in the 1970s in the Benelux countries. Today, VAT fraud is a major problem in the UK.[57] There are also similar fraud possibilities inside a country. To avoid this, in some countries like Sweden, the major owner of a limited company is personally responsible for taxes.[56]
Under a sales tax system, only businesses selling to the end-user are required to collect tax and bear the accounting cost of collecting the tax. Under VAT, however, manufacturers and wholesale companies also have to hire accountants and incur accounting expenses to handle the additional paperwork required for collecting VAT, increasing overhead costs that in turn get incorporated into the cost of the item, possibly creating a cascading effect of higher prices throughout the chain of production. Manufacturers and wholesalers have a choice of retaining less profits overall, or passing on the additional cost to their customers in the form of increased prices.
Many politicians and economists in the United States consider VAT taxation on US goods and VAT rebates for goods from other countries to be unfair practice. E.g. the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition claims that any rebates or special taxes on imported goods should not be allowed by the rules of the World Trade Organisation. AMTAC claims that so-called "border tax disadvantage" is the greatest contributing factor to the $5.8 trillion US current account deficit for the decade of the 2000s, and estimated this disadvantage to US producers and service providers to be $518 billion in 2008 alone. Some US politicians, such as congressman Bill Pascrell, are advocating either changing WTO rules relating to VAT or rebating VAT charged on US exporters by passing the Border Tax Equity Act.[58]
General:
la TVA représente 125,4 milliards d’euros, soit 49,7 % des recettes fiscales nettes de l’État.
The concept of a value added tax in any form as part of the U.S. tax regime has consistently raised the hackles of Republican policy makers and even some Democrats because of fears it could add to the tax burden rather than just redistribute it to consumption from earnings. For decades one of the most hotly debated tax policy topics, a VAT imposes a sales tax at every stage where value is added.
Puerto Rico's adoption of a VAT represents a major shift in tax policy and renders the Commonwealth as the first U.S. jurisdiction to adopt this tax regime.
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| Look up value added tax in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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English, SpanishINTRODUCCIÓN : Los gastos de bolsillo en salud representan un desafío para los sistemas sanitarios, en tanto suponen una barrera a la atención sanitaria, impactando la equidad de acceso a los sistemas de salud. Esto constituye un problema particularmente importante en el si
| 関連記事 | 「value」「add」「valued」「tax」 |